As replacements for the trio of relievers who are headed to the Injured List in connection with (presumably) the Chris Young positive COVID test (as close contacts, as opposed to positive tests yet), the Cubs added three pitchers for tonight’s game against the Brewers.
The #Cubs today placed RHPs Jason Adam, Dan Winkler & Brandon Workman on the COVID-19 related IL.
LHPs Justin Steele and Brad Wieck have been recalled from the South Bend Alternate Training Site and RHP Pedro Strop has been selected as a replacement player from South Bend.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 12, 2021
Steele and Wieck were already on the 40-man roster, so there is no special need for roster maneuvering there. Strop, by contrast, was not, so he’s now been added to the 40-man roster as something of an “official” replacement for a player going on the COVID IL. That means the Cubs don’t have to make some other move to open up the 40-man spot. If the Cubs want to keep Strop around after the COVID issue goes away, though, that will require a 40-man spot being opened up.
Not the way you wanted to see any of these guys getting the call up/back to the big league bullpen, but all are quite capable relief options. Steele has some of the best pitches in the organization, Wieck had tremendous success in 2019 when he was healthy, and Strop looked really dang good and fresh in Spring Training.
In particular, it’s just great to see Pedro Strop back with the big league Cubs after a little hiatus last year. This isn’t the way you’d script out his return, but I hope he gets an inning tonight and dominates.